AN orphan's battle to find out about the father she never knew has ended after more a quarter of a century.

Worcester grandmother Jan Penn was three when she and her two brothers were orphaned after their dad, Kenneth Perry, died.

Now, nearly 50 years later, she can finally commemorate him after a Royal Navy headstone was laid on his grave in St John's cemetery - the final act in tracing her father's life.

Class A Seaman Perry was 27 when he fell ill and died at Portsmouth in September, 1952.

Mrs Penn and her brothers, Keith and Michael, were adopted by relatives. They never knew what happened to their mother.

The three grew up in Worcester, but they did not know each other as brothers and sisters, only meeting for the first time since childhood last year.

Former Nunnery Wood High pupil Mrs Penn, aged 51, began tracking her father's life shortly after her grandfather Bert's death, in 1973.

But red tape and contradictory information from family members frustrated the search.

Nearly two years ago, she and friend Gail Grinnell discovered Seaman Perry had died in a Royal Navy hospital, and they picked up the trail again.

By chance, an enquiry found its way to the Medical Administration Division, where staff traced his medical records and service history.

Mrs Penn discovered her father had seen Second World War service in the North Atlantic and the East and West Indies, after he joined up in 1943.

"It's recognition of him as a person," an emotional Mrs Penn, of Norwich Road, Ronkswood, said yesterday. "It was very frustrating to me because over the years I'd written to various places and it was dead end."

Mrs Penn, who has five children and

12 grandchildren, said she wanted to ensure they knew about her father.

"It's their history," she added. "I wouldn't want them to go through life not knowing who they belong to, like I did."

Lieut-Cdr Peter Simpson, whose team tracked down Seaman Perry's records, paid tribute to Mrs Penn's courage.

"I think it's the will and the courage to overcome ordinary bureaucracy," he said. "There are still parts of the trail that are blurred to Jan, and it's been emotionally draining as well as uplifting."